Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Griffin DuBois of New York is one of thousands of people who think their foreign policy credentials make them more qualified to be vice president of the United States than Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

"I live above a Greek family and next to an Egyptian family. I'm more qualified than Sarah Palin," DuBois said in a message posted Thursday on the "I have more foreign policy experience than Sarah Palin" group on Facebook, the social networking site.

As of Thursday afternoon -- six days after Republican presidential candidate John McCain unveiled Palin as his choice for the number two spot in Washington -- the Facebook group founded by University of Washington student Timothy Goyder had more than 17,000 members.

And some 100 new adherents from around the world were joining every 10 minutes.

"I studied some French phrases to get ready for a trip to Paris... in doing so, I've leapt miles (or kilometers) ahead of Palin's foreign policy experience," said Matt Eichstedt of Chicago.

Ed Rooney of Vermont claimed to be the man for the job that has gone to a woman for the first time in the history of the Republican Party because: "I recently ate Chinese food which makes me an expert on US-China relations."

"I'm from Taiwan. Can I be VP?" asked David Wang, a high school student.

Others mentioned how often they have eaten at US fast food chain, the International House of Pancakes, italicizing the word "international."

Palin burst from relative obscurity in Alaska, where she has been governor for less than two years, to take center stage in US politics when McCain tapped her to be his running mate last week.

Her credentials for the number two job in Washington immediately came under scrutiny, and critics have homed in on her lack of foreign policy experience.

According to posts on the "I have more foreign policy experience than Sarah Palin", the 44-year-old governor of Alaska only got a passport last year and has visited three foreign countries.

Prominent Republicans have defended her by pointing out that Alaska borders Canada and is separated from Russia by the narrow Bering Straits, which sometimes freeze over to create a walkable bridge to Siberia, although the Republicans did not mention that.